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An anti-hate crime charity pranked far-right nationalists into campaigning for diversity during this year’s St George’s Day celebrations.

The St George’s Cross has become an icon of far-right xenophobia, which is somewhat ironic considering the patron saint had Syrian, Greek, Turkish and Palestinian heritage.

Tell MAMA distributed 100 heat-reactive St George’s Cross t-shirts to far-right nationalists in a bid to ‘reclaim the flag and teach them a lesson about how important diversity is to our country’.

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When they proudly put on their new t-shirts, they did not know that their body heat triggered the following message to appear: ‘St George was Syrian. #DefendDiversity’.

The prank was executed at St George’s Day gatherings across London ‘to champion the vital role that immigrants play in shaping our nation and to tackle the dramatic growth of far-right hate’, the charity said.

Tell MAMA director Iman Atta OBE said: ‘In light of the recent surge in division and hate crime, we wanted to reclaim the St George’s Cross from those who spread division and celebrate it as a symbol of diversity.

‘Migrants have shaped our country, from St George to present day heroes like Mo Farrah, Rita Ora, Malala Yousafzai and Dame Zaha Hadid.